Published: May 12, 2008 11:29 am            

OHHS duo signs with Tech

OAK HILL — Two Oak Hill High School athletes inked letters of intent to take their football talents to the next level Thursday.

In a ceremony in the Lilly Center gymnasium, Red Devils B.J. Wallace and Josh Murray signified their intentions of attending WVU Tech in Montgomery.

“This fits into the trend we’re trying to start, getting all the quality local athletes we can get,” said WVU Tech head coach Scott Tinsley. “B.J. and Josh are tremendous athletes who can play multiple positions for us.

“They’ll probably make contributions sooner than they expect.”

Both Wallace and Murray made valuable multi-sport contributions for the Red Devil athletic programs this school year. Each was an all-Fayette County first-team gridder this past fall.

Murray, 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds, says he’s glad to be headed to Montgomery.

“I’m pretty happy how it worked out,” said Murray, who also indicated he wants to look into playing basketball for Tech.

While he says he enjoys action on the hardwood, Murray says, “Football has always been my first love.”

Murray feels Tinsley and his staff can call on him on either offense or defense, or even special teams, where his speed and shiftiness made him a constant threat for coach Toby Harris’ teams at Oak Hill.

To prepare to play at the next level, Murray plans on “hitting the weight room real hard.” He also said OHHS assistant coach Jason Blankenship has given him some speed drills on which to work.

“I think I can be a big help to the program,” Murray said. “I just want to get down there and help the team.”

Murray’s field of study is undecided, but he’s considering computer science.

For his part, Wallace says he’s excited about the chance to reunite with cousins Jamel Shelton and Bryan Allen at Tech.

“Hopefully, I’ll help them win some games,” he said of the Bears, who have told Wallace — a quarterback the last couple of years — he will be tried out at wideout. Like Murray, Wallace feels he has to “hit the weight room hard as soon as baseball is over.”

Wallace will major in civil engineering. Juggling football and his studies “will be hard, but I’m up to it.”

Another recent Golden Bear signee was Valley High standout Trey Harvey.

        

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